Let’s talk about high-performance teams. Spend some time reading Frederick Taylor. Taylor (1856-1915), as you may know, is considered to be the father of ‘scientific management’ – a philosophy focused on the belief that making people work as hard as they could was not as efficient as optimizing the way…

Leaders need to walk the walk regarding core values when confronted with rogue employees who happen to be top performers. YOU: Boss, can I talk to you for a minute? BOSS: Sure, what’s on your mind? YOU: It’s about John Doe. I’m concerned we have a problem that we need…

Got someone on your team that you aren’t sure is working out? Sure you do. Or, no doubt, you have had this situation at one point or another in your career. We all know the drill when it comes to the steps a manager needs to take to see that…

This one is for the road warriors out there. No long preamble or set-up. Let’s get right to it. Like you, I’ve logged lots of miles and made many a trip on the road. Here’s my list of the 7 most annoying things when we’re on the road: Number 7…

You might remember the Likert scale. That’s the survey format that measures how people feel about something. The Likert scale gives 5 to 7 choices of balanced variation. i.e., strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree, etc. Created by Dr. Rensis Likert, it is often used in business. That same…

There’s a lot of hype that goes into the topic of leadership. I’ve read the books, heard the speeches, and given a few of my own. Most often, we have a tendency to gravitate toward the person at the top of the org chart and set our sights on making…

Ah, those Greeks. So much mythology to apply to our day-to-day lives. One of my favorites is that of Pygmalion, a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved. From that came the term Pygmalion effect, which is the phenomenon whereby higher expectations lead to an increase…

Early in my career, I had a mentor who ran fabulous meetings. He was a dynamic man and knew how to command attention. He used to start every meeting with meaningful recognition. The keyword here is meaningful. He didn’t force it. He didn’t look for phony or made-up recognition, but…

There’s a story of a man who interviews for a job on a construction crew. The foreman hires the man, telling him to show up on Monday at 7 a.m. The man shows up, and the foreman hands him a shovel and says ‘Dig a hole. The man looks at…

We know that leaders who are indecisive can stall growth and progress in an organization. But, those that are unclear are just as harmful. Being vague, aloof, or just plain unable to clearly convey a direction leaves people hanging, for which there are consequences. Back in grad school, I read…